Monthly Archives: November 2016

It’s been a tough couple of months. I lost my dad. He was 85 and had had a pretty good life. He was also fortunate to have a kind end, but you are never really prepared. I wouldn’t normally post about this sort of stuff. However I probably wouldn’t be doing this if weren’t for dad. I wouldn’t be a bike rider if it wasn’t for dad. Dad rode a bike for enjoyment and fitness when almost no one else saw the point. He didn’t race, but he did follow cycling. I grew up knowing who Russel Mockridge and Sid Patterson were. Cycling was a minority sport back then and if he hadn’t exposed me to it and taken me out riding and then later driven me to the races, I would probably have been like most other suburban kids. Playing football badly and giving up on sport early because I didn’t enjoy it. I found what I loved in cycling because of him. I also cannot imagine my journey into framebuilding without him. Dad was an upholsterer. I spent many hours in his workshop, surrounded by tools and materials. He taught me to use them and to take pride in my work. No I can’t cover a lounge suite. I became a toolmaker. A different trade with different materials, but still one where you used your hands. The mindset remained and his encouragement to take pride in whatever you did has never grown old. This might all sound a bit one dimensional. Dad was far from that and above all he was a man of values. I wouldn’t have the ones I have without him.
Having said all that I did manage to get some work done and my apologies and thanks to Murray for his understanding about the time it took to build his fork, and also to Bundit with regard to his latest project